Best Apps for Team Collaboration

In a world where there are very few limitations in being able to communicate with anyone, the ability to collaborate and work with others has never been easier. Given the immense power of the smartphone beyond simply sending texts and making calls, many mobile apps have been created to take advantage of the connective potential for people working together. With so many that are able to facilitate the collaboration aspect of teamwork, this article explores the best ones for a range of purposes.

When working with others in a team setting, information can be scattered with files and notes being stored across different documents, emails, and conversations. In order to reduce this scattered nature of crucial data, Infolio is one of the best tools to use in a collaborative setting. With the app, users within a team are able to collect and organize documents, emails, notes, and even schedules so that all of the important data is in a centralized location. As work is more commonly done on the computer as opposed to the phone, users are able to also set up their account and access this information through the web browser which syncs with the mobile app so that all of the information is kept up to date. One of the best features of Infolio is that tasks can be assigned to team members which makes it extremely easy to ensure the highest degree of accountability. For example, to-do lists can be created with each task being assigned to someone so that everyone knows their task and can coordinate their efforts more effectively. Through all of these features, Infolio is one of the most comprehensive collaboration tools that exist in the mobile space.

As the ultimate messaging platform that replaces many internal communication tools which are regarded as less efficient such as emails and memos, Slack contains several different channels that enable for multiple topics to be discussed in an organized manner. Instead of having multiple feeds that can be cluttered for different topics, Slack organizes the different conversation topics in a way that is intuitive to understand and therefore is a must-have tool for teams that often talking about different topics at any given time. Catered to small and large businesses alike, the app is free for smaller teams and also has many of the basic tools that other collaboration tools have such as file sharing, search, and integration with existing tools to make it an accessible product. For teams that are looking for a better, more efficient way to have conversations, Slack is a highly recommended tool for message and content management.

Given the increasing popularity of cloud-based storage that enables files to be shared across many people instantly, Dropbox is one of the most popular tools available for file sharing. As a platform that can quickly store, sync, and share files that are uploaded, all of the members of a team are able to get access to the files in real time. Furthermore, Dropbox enables for live edits to be made with multiple people at the same time so that if several different people need to work on a file at once, they are able to do so through the app. As with Infolio, there exists a mobile app as well as a web app so that all of the files on the computer can be shared with the connected devices, making it extremely comprehensive in terms of a collaboration tool. For the best file-sharing experience, Dropbox is one of the best apps to help facilitate team collaboration.

Although Word documents are typically static in that only a single person is able to work on it at any given time, Google docs is an app that can greatly help with collaboration as many people can make edits to the same file at once. Beyond being able to edit files, the app saves all edits as they are made so that everybody with access to the file can see and get the latest version of the document without having to update any older copies. One of the best features of Google Docs is that files do not have to be made editable for everyone who has access to it, but instead can be customized for restricted viewing such as View Only or View and Edit. As a document editor with the full range of features that exist on dedicated tools such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs is a must-have for teams that often need to work on the same file at the same time.

For a higher overview of all of the different projects and tasks that are being done across a team, Trello gives its users a perspective of all of their projects with an easy-to-understand interface that utilizes cards. With these cards, team members can be invited and workflows created while to-do lists can be assigned to different members. As with Infolio, this checklist can be assigned to different members so that a high degree of accountability can be placed on each team member and everyone knows exactly what their tasks are. What differentiates Trello from the other collaboration tools is that even if work is done offline, the cards will be synced once the user reconnects to the internet. Through this, the ability to work offline and collaborate even when not connected makes it one of the best tools that can be used, especially if an internet access is not always available.

For those who are looking to increase the collaborative nature of their team through mobile apps, the ones listed in this article are able to solve a series of collaboration inefficiency that exist across small and large teams. From apps which are able to help users share files easily to others that are designed to organize multiple conversations, these tools can make working in a team significantly more streamlined and easier to manage.

Following my passion in the realm of business and entrepreneurship, I am always eager to develop skills that enable me to learn, build, and grow. My previous projects, both academic and personal, reflect my dedication towards expanding and applying my theoretical knowledge for practical results in these fields.